Bhubaneswar: The auspicious Maha Saptami or day two of Durga Puja celebrations is here. It denotes the victory of virtue over evil. Saptami is the day when the goddess started her battle against Mahishasura which ended with his death on Vijaya Dashami (the 10th day).
According to folklore, the world was under threat from the evil demon Mahisasura, whom no man or god could defeat. To vanquish the buffalo demon, Maa Durga emerged from the collective energies of all the gods. Each God then brandished her with the deadliest weapons, and she destroyed Mahisasura.
While the rituals such as ‘Akal Bhodan’ and ‘Adhivasa’ were conducted on the sixth day or Maha Sasthi, the pandals are all ready today for Maha Saptami. Extensive preparations are being done for ‘Navapatrika Snan’ today. Bathing of the navapatrika with holy water is undertaken today.
Another special ritual to be undertaken today is the ‘Chakhyu Dana’ of the idols. The face of the Goddess is unveiled in pandals preceded by an elaborate puja. The divine face is revealed amidst reverberating sound conch shells, ‘ghanta’, and ululations with chanting of mantras. The pandal or medha are all decked up with people thronging to pay their respects to Maa Durga.
The nine manifested forms of Goddess Durga (Gauri) or (Parvati) are Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayini, Kaalratri, Mahagauri, and Siddhidhatri. To Hindus, Durga represents the embodiment of shakti, the powerful feminine force that governs all cosmic creation, existence, and change.
